Nutrition: Meal Breaks in Collective Bargaining Agreements
How collective bargaining agreements can support healthy eating and adequate rest during the working day
Meal breaks are an important part of healthy working conditions. They give employees enough time to eat, rest, and recover during the working day, helping to improve well-being, health, and productivity. Collective bargaining can strengthen workplace nutrition by ensuring that workers have protected, fair, and practical meal break arrangements.
This support paper presents practical examples of meal break clauses from the WageIndicator CBA Database. It highlights good practices from Europe and Africa on topics such as paid meal breaks, guaranteed minimum break periods, flexible meal breaks, protection against interruptions, compensation when employees cannot take their meal break, and additional recovery breaks during periods of extreme heat. The examples show how collective agreements can support both healthy nutrition and safer working conditions.
This publication is intended for trade unions, employers, negotiators, policymakers, and anyone interested in developing collective bargaining agreements that support healthy eating and adequate rest during the working day.
Discover good practices from Europe and Africa on topics such as paid meal breaks.
